This has come up in my veggie garden and I can’t place it. Is it something I planted as a veggie, or is it something that came in the sheep poo?

buffy said:

This has come up in my veggie garden and I can’t place it. Is it something I planted as a veggie, or is it something that came in the sheep poo?

Interested as I have this too. I’d assumed it was a type of marshmallow. If it’s from horse manure, that would explain why I have it everywhere.

Happy Potter said:

buffy said:

This has come up in my veggie garden and I can’t place it. Is it something I planted as a veggie, or is it something that came in the sheep poo?

Interested as I have this too. I’d assumed it was a type of marshmallow. If it’s from horse manure, that would explain why I have it everywhere.

Mallow Weed

Well, I wondered about that, but the leaves are quite smooth. Not at all hairy. Maybe these are just the baby leaves.

bluegreen said:

Happy Potter said:

buffy said:

This has come up in my veggie garden and I can’t place it. Is it something I planted as a veggie, or is it something that came in the sheep poo?

Interested as I have this too. I’d assumed it was a type of marshmallow. If it’s from horse manure, that would explain why I have it everywhere.

Mallow Weed

Not Mallow Weed

pinch a leaf and if it is smelly it is a paddy melon. Otherwise it is a watermelon.

Annual prostrate vine, with slender rough stems to 1.6 m long with undivided tendrils. Leaves alternate, ovate-cordate, 3-6 cm long, almost hairless above, rough and hairy below, divided into five obovate toothed main lobes, the middle the longest and often further divided into three lobes, the stalk as long as the blade. Flowers yellow small about 6 mm across. Cucumis myriocarpus

Well I did think a type of melon but I’d be very surprised if anything would germinate from sheep poo…isn’t that digested to billy-o, like roo poo?

Dinetta said:

Well I did think a type of melon but I’d be very surprised if anything would germinate from sheep poo…isn’t that digested to billy-o, like roo poo?

Everything grows in sheeps poo. That’s how we got widespread weeds.

roughbarked said:

Dinetta said:

Well I did think a type of melon but I’d be very surprised if anything would germinate from sheep poo…isn’t that digested to billy-o, like roo poo?

Everything grows in sheeps poo. That’s how we got widespread weeds.

oops.. sheep are already plural.

roughbarked said:

Not Mallow Weed

pinch a leaf and if it is smelly it is a paddy melon. Otherwise it is a watermelon.

on second thoughts :P

it does look like a melon of some sort :D

roughbarked said:

roughbarked said:

Dinetta said:

Well I did think a type of melon but I’d be very surprised if anything would germinate from sheep poo…isn’t that digested to billy-o, like roo poo?

Everything grows in sheeps poo. That’s how we got widespread weeds.

oops.. sheep are already plural.

Oh OK, I’ve believed the wrong thing for a long time, then…I know it’s difficult for seeds to survive a bovine’s 17 (or however many) guts…

bluegreen said:

roughbarked said:

Not Mallow Weed

pinch a leaf and if it is smelly it is a paddy melon. Otherwise it is a watermelon.

on second thoughts :P

it does look like a melon of some sort :D

:D

I’ll go out and pinch a leaf in a minute. I’ve checked the weed database for Victoria and the paddy melon isn’t listed for this area.

Dinetta said:

roughbarked said:

roughbarked said:

Everything grows in sheeps poo. That’s how we got widespread weeds.

oops.. sheep are already plural.

Oh OK, I’ve believed the wrong thing for a long time, then…I know it’s difficult for seeds to survive a bovine’s 17 (or however many) guts…

The difference of course is, that sheep droppings are often too small for many cucurbit seeds. So I’d suspect some cow pats were mixed up with the sheep droppings.

buffy said:

I’ll go out and pinch a leaf in a minute. I’ve checked the weed database for Victoria and the paddy melon isn’t listed for this area.

That would be true in older records but with droughts and shifting of fodder lots of things can change quickly.

The sheep poo came from under the shearing shed. Probably mostly sheep poo unless they were shearing cows too….

Very little smell at all. I’ve got a lot of other plants that outdo that one for smell by miles.

roughbarked said:

Dinetta said:

roughbarked said:

oops.. sheep are already plural.

Oh OK, I’ve believed the wrong thing for a long time, then…I know it’s difficult for seeds to survive a bovine’s 17 (or however many) guts…

The difference of course is, that sheep droppings are often too small for many cucurbit seeds. So I’d suspect some cow pats were mixed up with the sheep droppings.

Though the paddy melon seeds are the smallest at 3.5 – 4 mm

It’s a current database as far as I know.

http://www.weeds.org.au/vicmap.htm

buffy said:

The sheep poo came from under the shearing shed. Probably mostly sheep poo unless they were shearing cows too….

Very little smell at all. I’ve got a lot of other plants that outdo that one for smell by miles.

Yes but it is night time and it is best to wait until the sun is shining to smell it..

buffy said:

It’s a current database as far as I know.

http://www.weeds.org.au/vicmap.htm

Well you have one other recourse.. grow it until it makes fruit.

I’ll let it grow for a while, I don’t need that bit of ground for a couple of months. Flowers might be useful.

buffy said:

I’ll let it grow for a while, I don’t need that bit of ground for a couple of months. Flowers might be useful.

The flowers will attract bees but then so too do those of Caltrops.

Aha! Citrullus lanatus var. lanatus (camel melon, wild melon, bitter melon, pie melon) is, however, more “widespread throughout mainland Australia”. (Auld and Medd). So I’m probably going with this. I’ll let it grow a bit more and watch it.

buffy said:

Aha! Citrullus lanatus var. lanatus (camel melon, wild melon, bitter melon, pie melon) is, however, more “widespread throughout mainland Australia”. (Auld and Medd). So I’m probably going with this. I’ll let it grow a bit more and watch it.

Yep this is also true. If the very young fruits are hairless or hairy is another indicator to help divide them. Round or oblong is another.

roughbarked said:

buffy said:

Aha! Citrullus lanatus var. lanatus (camel melon, wild melon, bitter melon, pie melon) is, however, more “widespread throughout mainland Australia”. (Auld and Medd). So I’m probably going with this. I’ll let it grow a bit more and watch it.

Yep this is also true. If the very young fruits are hairless or hairy is another indicator to help divide them. Round or oblong is another.

They are all spreading weeds and none of them worth eating.

I remember now.. it is Citrullus lanatus var. lanatus that has the foul smell and looks the most like a water melon when young.

buffy said:

The sheep poo came from under the shearing shed. Probably mostly sheep poo unless they were shearing cows too….

Very little smell at all. I’ve got a lot of other plants that outdo that one for smell by miles.

sneaky mini cows?

painmaster said:

buffy said:

The sheep poo came from under the shearing shed. Probably mostly sheep poo unless they were shearing cows too….

Very little smell at all. I’ve got a lot of other plants that outdo that one for smell by miles.

sneaky mini cows?

Sticky dags infested with whatever that was sat upon.